Aging research gets a boost

by Sharon Gray

With the fastest increase in an aging population in Canada,
there are challenges and opportunities in Newfoundland and Labrador
to develop relevant solutions in aging research.

The Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for Applied Health Research
(NLCAHR) is tackling the issue head on, and its efforts received a
major boost March 31 at the start of a conference on New Directions
in Aging Research: Implications for Health Services and
Policy.

Ross Wiseman, minister of health and community services, led off
with the announcement of $200,000 in funding this year to support
research projects on issues relating to aging and seniors. The
minister has committed to providing on-going support for research
on aging within the framework of the Provincial Healthy Aging
Policy, launched in July 2007.

The funding, to be administered by the NLCAHR, will support
research grants focusing on the needs of individuals as they
age.

“Good policy requires evidence from research and good
research requires funding,” said Dr. Stephen Bornstein,
director of the NLCAHR. “This is a great way of getting
research done right here in Newfoundland and Labrador that looks
specifically at the questions and issues that are relevant or
unique to our provincial population. This core base of funding will
allow us to leverage other grants.”

Following this high note, research leaders from across Canada
and local experts settled down to a full day of presentations and
discussion on emerging issues in aging research and how those
issues will affect health services and policy in the province.

Dr. Anne Martin-Matthews, scientific director of the Institute
of Aging, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, said the targeted
research topics for the institute are cognitive impairment in
aging, mobility on aging and a longitudinal study on aging.

The lead principal investigator of the Canadian Longitudinal
Study on Aging, Dr. Parminder Raina, said that genes account for
only 25 per cent of what determines longevity – other factors
are nutrition, lifestyle and environment.

The study, which involves more than 160 researchers in 26
institutions, will include 50,000 people followed over 20 years,
with an in-depth data collection on 30,000 people at 10 sites
including St. John’s. The first selection of study
participants will be made late in 2008 with the remaining 30,000
enrolled in 2010.

Suzanne Brake, director of seniors and aging, policy and
planning, Department of Health and Community Services, spoke on
opportunities and challenges of an aging population.

She noted that the number of people 65 and older in the province
was 13.9 per cent of the population in 2006, and this is expected
to rise to 20 per cent in less than 10 years. A low fertility rate
combined with out-migration and increased longevity all contribute
to the province’s high percentage of seniors.

“We need to take action and for that we need the evidence
gained through research,” said Ms. Brake.

Dr. Byron Spencer, a professor of economics at McMaster
University, made the point that less than 20 per cent of the
increase in health care expenditure is related to an aging
population. “What is driving costs is more drugs and more
intensive hospital times.” He also suggested that lack of
long range planning by federal and provincial governments is one of
the reasons for increases in health care expenditures.

Other topics addressed at the conference included health aging
in healthy places and aging and mental health. Dr. Ken Rockwood, a
professor of geriatric medicine at Dalhousie University, described
a new Canadian Institutes of Health project in mental health, the
Research to Action Program in Dementia (RAPID). This is a national
initiative to address the health services gaps between research and
practice in the areas of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia
diagnosis, treatment and care.

At the conclusion of the day’s discussions, Dr. Bornstein
said it is clear that serious challenges around an aging population
are coming in Newfoundland and Labrador faster than the rest of
Canada, and there is a serious need to do research in health care
delivery that is informed from policy makers.

“There’s a kind of urgency that gets people going
and the question now is how to use our resources in the most
intelligent way to do this research.”.